Chapter 5 Chapter Four

ARA

“I will never let you soil the Slade's legacy by picking up a random lowlife! Madison will be your wife, end of story!” His father bellowed, his face turning red in anger.

He turned around and started heading for the door.

Madison picked herself up from the floor, her eyes narrowed to tiny slits.

“You will hear from me again, Thayne. And you, don't think I won't take my own pound of flesh," She clicked her tongue for emphasis, letting the unspoken threat hang in the air for a moment before she turned around finally to join Thane's father outside.

As soon as we were alone again, Thayne released me. I didn't waste time in turning around so I could glare at him.

“I'm not going to marry you." I told him, clenching my fists. It didn't matter that Thayne was the hottest man on planet earth, or that when he had wrapped his arm around me, I'd wished that he wouldn't stop at just that.

He was still the man who had turned my life into a living nightmare, and I needed to start hating him instead of harboring dirty thoughts about him.

For a moment, he ignored me. He loosened up his tie, and started scrolling through his phone, ignoring me completely.

How dare he?

“I'm going to tell everyone the truth. I'll post that you're holding me hostage, and that you forced me into becoming your live-in personal assistant just so—” One minute, I was running my mouth, the next minute, I was being backed against a wall.

My back collided with the wall and Thayne's hard body pressed me against it.

"Let me remind you, little lamb, your stepfather owes me. Your stepfather who is on the run. If you want your sisters safe from harm,” he lowered his head so he could whisper in my ear.

"You will do everything I say and act according to my script. If I say you will be my fiancée, you will be my fiancée. If I say you will be my wife, you will be my wife. Am I clear?” His gaze on me was hot, burning right through me.

His lips brushing against the shell of my ear had me shutting my eyes involuntarily. Thayne Slade would be my undoing, I knew it.

But I suddenly remembered what he had done to me, how he had stolen my peace of mind and dragged me down here.

I opened my eyes to level him with a hard stare. “I will not be your anything. The agreement was that I would be your live-in personal assistant. I will be nothing else.” I was breathing heavily as I spoke, and my chest rose and fell with each word that escaped my lips.

We stared at each other for what felt like an hour, his cold, calculating eyes searching mine for any weakness he could use against me.

We both heard the footsteps outside the door at the same time, and Thayne did something I didn't expect.

He lifted my legs and wrapped them around his waist, and before I could even start protesting, his lips crashed down on mine with an intensity that stole the air from my lungs.

I tried to push him away, but he grabbed my hands and pinned my wrists on the wall above my head. Despite my anger, I parted my lips and kissed him back.

Fuck. Thayne kissed like it was in his job description. He sucked on my bottom lip and bit down gently. I moaned into the kiss, and that seemed to add fuel to whatever was going on.

He trailed kisses down my jaw, my neck, my collar bones, and back up to my lips.

The door pushed open, and only then did Thayne let me go. It was all a show, I realized.

“Am I interrupting something?" A female voice asked from the doorway.

“No, Sasha. Did you come with the contract form and its photocopies?" Thayne asked, not bothering to hide the fact that this Sasha had just stumbled into us making out like two horny teenagers in the broom closet.

“Yes, sir." Sasha replied, handing over a jacket file stuffed with documents to Thayne.

“I want a press release by evening. I want it official before the rumors carry the story first. Madison will no doubt try to cook up lies just to spite me. On your way out, make a post on my IG page announcing that I've found the love of my life." He glanced my way briefly, then finally, looked at Sasha.

Sasha had a bewildered expression on her face.

"Your fiancée? I thought Madison was—"

“I don't pay you to drill me with questions. I pay you so you can protect my image and do damage control when and where necessary. Do you have anything important to tell me?” There was no patience in his voice this time as he spoke, and it reminded me of that moment he'd stormed into my mother's restaurant.

This was the billionaire New York was used to. The cold, ruthless bad boy.

"No sir. If there's anything else, I will let you know.” Sasha mumbled.

"Good. Now, you can be on your way.”

Sasha tossed me a look that said you're not his type, though, as she left.

Thayne wasted no time in reverting to the bully he truly was once the door clicked shut.

"I have an appointment with the chairman of Stocktington Enterprises. I won't be back until dusk. You're to sign the contract form and sign where necessary. Do you understand me?” He asked.

I nodded once, convinced that all he needed to know was that I was playing along.

"I have my men watching the penthouse. There are CCTVs mounted everywhere, little lamb, there's no point in trying to escape. You can never escape me." His eyes went to my slightly parted lips before climbing back up to my face.

"You kissed me just to make your PR agent think we're truly together.” I blurted out.

"I do what I want, little lamb. Try to remember that.” He said huskily.

He dropped the documents on the gleaming glass table by the window and started heading for the door.

I didn't try to stop him. I let my traitorous eyes feast on his sexy ass instead as he strode out of the room.

I touched my lips, wondering how it was possible to hate someone as much as you wanted them.

Any other girl would dance in ecstacy at being his fake fiancée, but not me. I needed to find a way out of this mess, take my sisters and leave New York for good.

I was in the bathtub when Thayne arrived, and I was taken unawares when he appeared in the bathroom, his massive frame swallowing up the doorframe entirely.

“Oh my God!" I shrieked.

My hasty movements in the tub caused my hand to graze the spot beside the faucet that would activate the drain, and I watched in horror as the water began to drain out of the tub.

I wrapped my arms around my chest quickly, not caring how stupid I looked.

“You can't just walk in without knocking!" I yelled, praying for the drain to swallow me too.

I couldn't be stark naked in the same room with a man like Thayne Slade. It was a dangerous combination I would rather stay away from.

But here I was, naked in the tub with Thayne watching me as if I was the best thing he'd ever set his eyes on since he was born.

“I own this place. Rise from the tub, I want to see all of you." He growled.

What? No way. It would have to snow in hell before I moved an inch. Besides, what made him think he could just issue out an order like that?

I wasn't his house-help.

“Ara, rise from the tub." The way he said my name, as if my name was a holy chant and he was a worshipper, it loosened something inside me.

I rose from the tub. He moved closer, then stopped in his tracks. His eyes were on my face, never wandering.

“Drop your arms. I want to see all of you, Ara." He didn't call me little lamb, that stupid nickname he gave me back in the VIP suite of his club.

Slowly, I let my arms drop to my sides.

My nipples were hard and taut, and between my legs, I was aching and wet from just his eyes feasting on my naked body.

“Touch yourself." He ordered in a smoky voice that felt like a stroke inside me.

I blinked, unable to believe the words he'd just spoken.

“No." I croaked out.

“Touch. Your. Self." Now there was something dangerous about the way he bit out each word, and his eyes darkened when I trailed my fingers up my chest, grazing my nipples.

As if he couldn't handle watching anymore, he marched up to me in the bathtub and kissed me without warning.

His large hands found my breasts, and when he began to toy with my nipples, rolling them between his fingers and squeezing them, I melted into him and moaned.

“Are you wet for me, little lamb?" He asked, one hand going down to the apex of my thighs.

“Yes," I whispered.

He slipped one finger inside me, and I gasped at the heavenly tremor that rocked through my body.

“Good girl, now clean up yourself. We have a dinner night to attend." He withdrew his hand and stepped away from me.

What the hell had just happened?